


From the Journals of Sarah Liora Jacobs

by Newtdew25



Series: The Best Laid Plans [1]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Anxiety Disorder (mentioned), Diary/Journal, F/F, Friends to Lovers, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5235236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newtdew25/pseuds/Newtdew25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the privacy of her bedroom, Sarah keeps track of what goes in her life and the lives of the Jacobs household.</p><p>Naturally, life decides to throw a wrench into the mix. Except that wrench is called "love."</p>
            </blockquote>





	From the Journals of Sarah Liora Jacobs

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've written for a female/female relationship, so keep that in mind. I also decided to mix things up by writing in a journal format as opposed to a third person point of view.
> 
> In terms of the series, this would chronologically take place during the year before Jack and Crutchie meet.
> 
> Oh, and the newsies are called "Strikers" here because of the name of their lacrosse team, the New Haven Strikers.

February 19th

            I guess I should start by thanking Les for getting me this journal for my birthday. The thing is, I don’t remember mentioning wanting one... How’d he know? Maybe David or Mama told him.

            So besides this journal, I also got a new pair of headphones from David and a gift card to Barnes and Noble from Mama and Papa. Aunt Rachel also mailed us a sewing kit, and I’m not sure what to do with it. Maybe I’ll take it up; I could actually be good at it.

            Jack also dropped by with two gifts. His was a New Haven Strikers jersey with “S. Jacobs” on the back with the number 99. I’m definitely wearing it when their season starts up again. Go Strikers Go!

            Oh, and Jack also left a gift from Katherine. She gave me a fancy and expensive looking pen that reminds me more of a quill than something I’d use at school. Guess what I’m writing this with?

            It was nice of her, it really was... I need to thank her when I see her again.

March 3rd

            The snow finally began to melt today. Mama said that I could choose what we planted in our  garden this year. It’s about time! I think I’ll grow some peonies like the ones I saw when we went to Hong Kong two years ago. Maybe Katherine knows where I can get some seeds...

            Last week, David mentioned something about joining the Strikers. Apparently, he never said he was trying out; he’s actually the assistant coach now! I asked him if he knew anything about lacrosse.

              Now he’s been in his room since supper, probably researching the history behind it.

            As strange as his approach seems, I’ve got faith in him. When he wants to succeed in something, he’ll find a way to make it happen. Besides, he’s got about a month before the Strikers’ season starts, so I’m sure he’ll be plenty prepared for it.

              Oh, and Les has a “date!” Well, that’s what he calls it anyways. Despite what he says, ten years old is still too young for a serious relationship.

              P.S. This is going to be “date” number seven for him; this time, with Yvette Brovov, a girl that lives down the street from us. She seems nice enough, I suppose.

              P.P.S. Yvette was an absolute brat! I went with Les and Papa to see a movie to cheer him up. Mama was working overtime, and David is still in his room for all I know.

March 18th

            Jack, Specs, and the rest of the Strikers’ decided to come over and have a water gun war on our front lawn.

            In the rain.

            In March.

            I’ll join them in a bit.

April 27th

            The Strikers’ season began yesterday, and they won 10-5 against the Twin Streams Tigers! According to Jack, David was on the verge of a breakdown the entire game. His hard work certainly paid off though; those Tigers never knew what hit them! He went out last night with the whole team. I would have gone with them, but I was loaded with chemistry homework. David said that Katherine kept asking for me…

            Then again, he stumbled through the door at two in the morning and is currently groaning about his hangover, so I can’t be sure.

            As I’m writing this, I’m looking over at the sewing kit Aunt Rachel sent me for my birthday. I’ve put off actually using it, and Mama insisted that I try it. But what am I supposed to sew? It’s springtime; I can’t exactly sew a scarf to use.

            Whatever. I’ll just hide it under my bed or something.

April 30th

            Mama found the sewing kit under my bed and put it back on my desk.

            I really don’t have a choice in this anymore.

May 4th

            It’s David’s favourite day of the year (apart from any day during Hanukkah), so he, Jack, Race, and Albert are sitting in front of the television, as is tradition. They’re watching their fourth movie now, but it doesn’t sound like the fourth episode. I think they’re watching it in the machete order David read about a few days ago.

            Judging by what I can overhear, Albert has never seen any of the Star Wars movies, and Race is getting tired of answering his questions.

            Actual quote by Antonio “Race” Higgins:

            “Albert Jeremy DaSilva, if you ask me about Darth Vader one more time, I’ll personally throw you out onto the streets like the trash you are; got it?”

            I’m so glad my brother has such great friends.

May 13th

            I’m writing this in Katherine’s bedroom, since Jack decided to have a sleepover at our house.

            Oh, and the entire team came with him.

            So at the moment, Katherine’s downstairs, brewing some tea for our movie musical marathon. I picked out The Music Man and Little Shop of Horrors, and she chose Rent and West Side Story. We wanted to watch Annie, but we couldn’t decide on a version.

            No matter what she says, the 1999 version’s the best.

            Oh, she’s coming back up now. I hate how some of my entries have been so short, so I’ll write some more later.

            It’s now just after 1:00 A.M, and I’m doing my best to write this by the light of my phone. Katherine’s a fairly light sleeper, so I’m also hiding under the covers of the guest bed so I don’t disturb her. She’s actually snoring a bit at the moment, probably dreaming about some new way to bring the Strikers some publicity. She loves that team just as much as I do.

            Maybe more so...

            Nah, I still love them more.

June 2nd

            Thanks to college and university applications, I haven’t been able to write much down recently. In fact, now that I look back, I haven’t written much at all since I got this journal.

            Way to go, Jacobs. Way to go.

            I mean, what can I really write about? Papa’s arm is alright now, Les’ dyslexia is now under control, and we’ve found a doctor that knows what kind of treatment David actually needs.

            I guess I could write about the last one.

            So last month, David mentioned that he felt more anxious than he normally does on a daily basis, so we went to see Doctor Fine. We came home week after week with all sorts of pills and much more confusion and distress. No matter what combination of meds he tried, David only felt physically and mentally worse. It got to the point that he couldn’t come out of his bedroom without breaking into tears

            It was a miracle that we met Doctor Madden at the hospital.

            Having worked with anxiety disorders for years, he told us that the best thing for us to do is to educate ourselves on how to best help David. Since then, we’ve taught the rest of the Strikers how to help as well, if anything ever happened at lacrosse practice.

            I honestly don’t know what we’d do without them.

June 25th

            I, Sarah Liora Jacobs, am a proud high school graduate and Valedictorian nominee!

            Okay, so I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t win, but Katherine did give an amazing speech! She actually made sure I was okay afterwards, which was quite sweet of her. I guess that’s why Jack loved her so much. I still wonder why they broke up though...

            Anyways, my life as a semi-independent adult has officially begun!

            This isn’t going to be easy for a long time, is it?

July 4th

            Guess who got to set off a firecracker for the first time ever? Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

            I’ll admit, it was actually terrifying to be so close to a miniature rocket that was about to blast off. David can laugh all he wants, but he wasn’t the one with the match. He was too busy judging a hot dog eating competition between Mush and Buttons. The other Strikers gave us weird looks when they first came to our barbeque, but when we explained that the meat was kosher, they dove in.

            On one hand, our Fourth of July party was a great success. On the other hand, I have to remind Papa to buy more chicken before next Shabbat. Well, we need more food in general. Jewish or not, teenagers can and will eat much more than anyone would expect.

            David and I still have a lot of plates to wash, and Mama’s calling for me from downstairs.

            Well, at least I can talk to David while we work, and maybe I’ll actually get some sleep before tomorrow.

July 7th

            Today, Les and David came back from lacrosse practice, and Les asked me if Katherine was my girlfriend.

            What.

            I asked him who told him that, and he just answered, “She talks about you all the time when she’s not writing about the Strikers. She also asks a lot of questions about you, like your favourite colour and stuff.”

            Curse his innocent ten year-old brain.

            He ran off to talk to David when I said that my favourite colour was white, and I now have a funny feeling in my stomach. I swear it’s not disgust or anything though. After all, I was the first person in our family that David came out to. But how am I supposed to face Katherine now when I know she likes me?

            _Like a human being with even a shred of decency._

            Thanks, brain.

            I don’t know what to do. I’ll think about it tomorrow.

July 8th

            I still don’t know what to do. I’ll get to it eventually, I promise.

July 15th

              I’ve given it a bit of thought. Well, to say “a bit” would be an understatement. I, for one, have never really thought about my sexuality, not even when David came out as bisexual. I guess I just didn’t think it would be this big of a deal.

            One thing I want to know is why Katherine would fall in love with me of all people. I mean, all the boys are charming when you get to know them, and Anita “Sniper” Sanchez (the Strikers’ lone, but proud female forward) is so much more lively and outgoing. I don’t know what she sees in me...

July 20th

            I had to drive David to lacrosse today since he twisted his ankle when he tripped on his own messenger bag a few days ago. All of the others came over, understandably concerned about their assistant coach. Katherine made her way over as well, albeit to my side of my family’s Jeep.

           As I explained what happened to her, she muttered something about boys being idiots, and I couldn’t help but laugh. When Katherine was called back over (the practice was about to begin), she awkwardly took her hand off of mine and ran to Coach Denton. I hadn’t even noticed it, but now that I think about it, I liked it.

            I hope I see her again before I go off to university.

August 2nd

            It’s been hectic lately, what with Mama taking me shopping for furniture, supplies, etc. David even tagged along, even though he’s not graduating until next year. When I joked about sewing clothes for myself so that we could save money, Mama just glared at me until the cashier called us over.

            It’s frustrating when parents don’t get your jokes.

            Katherine left yesterday to go camping up in Algonquin Park, Canada with her family. I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her about, well, you know, and she’s going so deep into the park that she won’t have reception. So it’ll just have to wait.

            While I feel ready to talk about it now, my courage might fail me when I actually come face to face with her. Or maybe my nerves will take over and I’ll be nothing but a sweaty, mumbling mess. Yeah, because _that’s_ attractive…

            I guess I shouldn’t be so worried whether she’ll care about it or not. After all, she’s not the kind of person who’s shallow enough to judge someone based on their appearance. If that were the case, she and Jack would never have become friends.

            Mama’s calling me again. This time, we’re off to Ikea.

            Ugh.

August 30th

            Katherine finally came back from camping yesterday. She couldn’t text much since her phone battery was nearly drained due to the long drive back, but I told her that I wanted to talk to her as soon as I could.

            Which would be September 2nd.

            C’mon Jacobs, it’s just a girl we’re talking about! You’ve talked to them your whole life!

            Yeah, but never in this context.

            So, to calm my haywire nerves, I decided to plan how this little rendezvous with Katherine would go. First, I’ll just make small talk with her. Ask her about the trip and all that jazz. Then, I’ll slowly shift the conversation towards love, romance, and other things like that. Finally, when the time is right. I’ll ask her if she wants to go out to this small café I know for coffee.

            Simple as that.

September 3rd

            Nothing went to plan. Absolutely nothing.

            So, being the typical ball of nerves I am, I tried to politely ask about her camping trip. I intended to ask, “So, was it lonely, being in the woods and all?”

            Instead, it came out like, “So, was it lonely without me?”

            I know, _real_ smooth, Jacobs.

            But Katherine just **blushed** and nodded. “Would’ve been nice if I had someone up there to talk to other than my father and Miss Hannah…” she mumbled, looking at her feet.

            What.

            Once my brain was properly functioning, I cleared my throat. “Well, uh…” I began. “How about we start talking now?” She took this as an invitation to take my hand in between hers. “What would you call this, Sarah?” she asked in a sweet, innocent voice.

            “Um, a date?” I managed to squeak out.

            “If you say so, Jacobs,” she replied, a smirk on her face.

            How did I manage to make that work?

September 5th

            Look, I know that I should be packing for university. Call me irresponsible, lazy, whatever. But as Kath told me yesterday, her hands wrapped around the scarf I sewed for her, “Despite what the world says, there is always time for the nice things in life, like love.”

            I couldn’t have put it better myself.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


End file.
